Working for God
In our Sunday worship service we were confronted with the futility of placing work at the centre of our lives. Work is damaged by the fall, and therefore unable to bear the burden we place on it. So how are we to keep Christ at the centre of our lives and have our work orbiting around Him? The Bible tells us that we are to do our work heartily, not for men but for God (Col 3:23). Some of the areas we could address in our work this week are:
1. Worship
As you go about your work, what do you worship? What makes you say, “Wow!” Apart from yourself, of course, since we usually think pretty highly of ourselves! When Christ is at the centre of our lives, your work can be a wonderful place of worship. Maybe you’re a graphic designer marvelling at our great Designer. Or maybe you work with customers and as you interact with image bearers, you marvel at the One they were made like. Whatever it is, find something to say, “Wow, God is great” about!
2. Gratefulness
I’d be surprised if you enjoyed everything about your work. I should know, since at this stage in my life, my work in the home involves all my least-favourite activities: cleaning, shopping, feeding the baby, washing, tidying up etc. With work at the centre of my life, it’s pretty unfulfilling and very easy to complain! With Christ at the centre of our lives, we’ll recognise His generosity towards us in the gospel, and that will motivate our gratefulness in our workplace. There are so many things to be grateful for. Has God given you success in the task you had to complete? Do you have great workmates who treat you with dignity? Do you get to work in an air-conditioned building? But even if you can’t find a single thing to be grateful about, you can thank God for the privilege of work, knowing how many people desperately would love a job, any job!
3. Redeem your skills
I remember working in a casual job for a few years, often thinking, “How is this ever going to help me in my future career!” Only to realise later that all those phone calls and interactions with customers, actually taught me a lot about people! I learnt so much about ministering to people through some of those awkward phone conversations! With Christ at the centre of your life, and with work falling in to place around Him, you can be on the lookout for skills you can pick up and use to serve Him (not just as the best worker you can be, but also beyond the workplace!) Perhaps there are skills you are learning in your work place, that you can use in the way you serve in Church. Maybe you can make the most of the opportunities to learn, and ask God to give you ministry opportunities where you can put those skills into practice!
4. Evangelism
If you have work at the centre of your life, you’ll compromise all other areas to progress in your work (areas like: church, family, generosity, faithfulness, and truth). If Christ is at the centre of your life, you’ll be hunting for ways to honour Him, rather than put Him on the sidelines. One of the ways we can honour Christ is be a witness to Him with our words and actions. If you truly believe God is sovereign over every little detail of life, then you have to ask yourself, why has he put you in the work situation you’re in. Why do you share an office or have the same shift as those particular people? Could He be giving you opportunities within the workplace to share the gospel with those you are interacting with?
5. Godliness
Even if your workplace seems irredeemable, with Christ at the centre of your life, you’ll be able to see His work in sanctifying you while you are in a difficult workplace. Is God chiselling away at areas of ungodliness as you work? Is he training you in areas of godliness while you endure through a difficult time? Maybe your workplace is a great opportunity to exercise godliness and overcome the temptations to complain, steal time, gossip, cut corners or mistreat your boss.
There would be a hundred more ways you can work to please God, not man. As you consider them, let’s remember that work is a great thing, as long as we keep Christ as the centre of life, and keep work orbiting around Him.